Post-positivist Review of Technology Acceptance Model.

Abstract

This paper reflects upon the technology acceptance model (TAM) from the perspective of the post positivistic philosophy of science. I explore what it is to know, what a theory is, and what it means to be scientific in the context of TAM. In particular, I review criteria for determining whether TAM is scientific or not in light of post-positivistic debates about the nature of science. For this purpose, I apply Popper's principle of demarcation, which determines whether a theory-like TAM-is falsifiable and the logical connection argument to show that connections between actions and intentions cannot be subjected to empirical testing similar to connections between chemical entities. I also draw on Kuhn's notion of scientific revolutions to observe the degree to which TAM has become normal science. Finally, I review TAM from the Lakatosian perspective of scientific research programs to evaluate whether the program is advancing or declining. My main objective is not to provide a conclusive evaluation of TAM as a research program or a paradigm, but to open the philosophical foundations of TAM for scrutiny so that it can be evaluated not only within the validation rules followed by its proponents, but by applying a set of well known criteria established in the post-positivistic views of science.

The Determinant Factors of Technology Adoption for Improving Firm’s Performance: An Empirical Research of Indonesia’s Electricity Company

“…The literature is divided (Silva 2007); some explain that there is a direct relationship between firms' dynamic capabilities and their performance or competitive advantage (Makadok 2001;Zollo and Winter 2002). Others have linked dynamic capabilities to competitive advantage but have asserted that this link is indirect (Zott 2003;Helfat and Peteraf 2003;Ambrosini and Bowman 2009;Wang and Ahmed 2007).…”

Barriers to the use of Mobile Sales Force Automation Systems. A Salesperson’s Perspective

“…In the research setting where the studied organizations operate in a business-to-business environment, the survey research and statistical techniques often used in IT adoption studies (e.g. Silva 2007) might suffer from the large number of contextual variables influencing organizational behavior (Johnston et al, 1999) suggesting that explanatory qualitative approach with interviews suits well for this study in hand.…”

Understanding ICTs Adoption from an Evolutionary Process Perspective

“…A number of research critique papers on TAM have been published in recent years (e.g. Bagozzi [4], Benbasat and Barki [5], Hirschheim [7], King and He [9], Legris et al [10], Schwarz and Chin [1], Silva [12] and Venkatesh et al [13]). However, a more detailed examination revealed that TAM was the most popular theory in examining the ICTs adoption.…”

“…A number of attempts are made to provide a comprehensive review of the trends and issues in ICTs adoption research (e.g. Bagozzi [4], Benbasat and Barki [5], Choudrie and Dwivedi [6], Hirschheim [7], Jeyaraj et al [8], King and He [9], Legris et al [10], Lucas et al [11], Schwarz and Chin [1], Silva [12] and Venkatesh et al [13]). but each of them seems to have limitations in its own right.…”